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Board denies 50-foot buffer variance for proposed pool, citing lack of hardship
Summary
Beaufort County board voted to deny a request from Phillips Land Management Company to build a 12-foot pool six feet into the 50-foot buffer, finding that a pool is an accessory use and does not demonstrate the hardship required for a variance.
Beaufort County commissioners denied a variance request that would have allowed a swimming pool to encroach six feet into the county’s 50-foot river buffer, with members saying the application did not meet the hardship standard required for buffer variances.
Lynn Graves of Graves Construction said the house dates to 2000 and the owners want a 12-foot-wide pool but are constrained by topography, specimen live oaks and the house’s two-story foundation; Graves said the engineer’s letter in the packet warns that moving the pool closer to the foundation could risk the structure. "We're asking for a variance of 6 feet into the 50 foot setback," Graves said.
Board members questioned whether a swimming pool constitutes a legal hardship because the lot already supports a house and the property is not rendered unusable without a pool. Several members suggested smaller or differently sited pools could meet the owners' needs without encroaching into the protective buffer. One member noted medical needs cited by the applicants but said alternatives such as a smaller pool or county facilities remained possible.
The vice chair moved to deny the variance on the basis that no hardship had been proven; another member seconded, and the board voted by show of hands to deny the application. The county clerk noted a correspondent about the application had been entered into the record. The denial was framed as a buffer-protection decision tied to the county’s long-standing setback rules rather than a determination about the house’s habitability.
